I wasn't making a declaration, I was making an observation. I came here to see what people were saying about the coaching hire (because I know nothing about him) and it appears no one cares about basketball because there was no one saying anything. Where else would I go than a LSU forum for a LSU coaching hire?
As with just about any coaching hire it's a crap shoot was to whether they'll have any success. In this case, using records at VCU as an indicator of how a coach will do at this level doesn't seem like a good barometer to me. Jeff Capel did well. Fired at OU. Anthony Grant did well. Fired at UA. Shaka Smart did well. He was 11-22 last season at Texas after taking over for Rick Barnes in 2015 (Barnes players, right? ) VCU is definitely as strange story. Just glancing over records I see 10 NCAA appearances in the last 14 years under four different head coaches and none have had success when they moved on to a bigger venue. Winning in SEC basketball takes a special coach. Hell, I'm still wondering if we see Howland crash and burn after all the success he had at UCLA.
[hijack] Does he resemble Henry Silva to anyone besides me? He looks like the younger version--IE: the original Oceans 11 cast. [/hijack]
I'll add that the hiring of Trent Jones was widely celebrated. Hope this guy lives up to his billing.
Good points. The grass isn't always greener. That said, VCU folks are tired of being a stepping stone, but I suppose that's the price you pay for being a successful mid-major program. I should note that VCU upgraded its conference affiliation from the CAA to the A-10 five years ago, and just recently built a $25 million basketball practice facility. Starting with Capel, here's a breakdown of VCU's recent success, which includes 11 consecutive years of 24 or more wins, and 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (including the Final Four year of 2011): 1. Jeff Capel 2002-2006: Overall 79-41 / Conference 50-22 (CAA) 2. Anthony Grant 2006-2009: Overall 76-25 / Conference 45-9 (CAA) 3. Shaka Smart 2009-2015: Overall 163-56 / Conference 74-30 (CAA/A-10) 4. Will Wade 2015-2017: Overall 51-20 / Conference 28-8 (A-10) TOTALS: 369-142 (.722) / 197-69 (.741) Anyway, we shall see if Wade can be successful at LSU. Seems to me the program requires a total rebuild. VCU currently has a top 25 recruiting class coming in for 2017-18 and I'm sure Wade will try to lure some of those guys to LSU with him. If he does, it will really leave VCU in a bind, as VCU will be losing 5 seniors as it is.
Hold up now. OU was in the Final Four in '16, the Sweet 16 in '15. I want to say they made it to the Elite 8 in '09 (the last year Blake Griffin was there.) When Rick Barnes was at Texas he had a couple of Elite 8's, a couple of Sweet 16's, and a Final Four over that decade and a half (or so) span. True, football is the money maker. But, there's some success in basketball that has to be acknowledged as well.
